DE going back into the pool?

[madninjapimp]

So I rented a house with a pool thinking it would be a great summer adventure...

I've come to a problem. I have a nautilus NS-36 (which I understand is a pretty darn old unit) DE filter. After I backwashed it, I made a mistake I think. I misread the directions, and added the powdered DE straight to the skimmer on the side of the pool. Soon, I started to see white plumes coming out of my return jets

I don't think that this should be happening.....

[markphin]

Actually, you used the right process in adding DE via the skimmer. What you may have done wrong was to not have the multiport valve on filter. Perhaps you had it on re-circulate in which case the DE by-passed the filter and went right back into the pool. Not sure if this would happen in the backwash position or not. If you did have the multiport valve in the filter position, you may have a hole(s) in your grids. If that is the case you can sew them up with some fishing line.

[madninjapimp]

Well I have a slide valve, not a multi-port, but I can't be 100% sure on the valve's condition. (It does seem to run normally in the run position, and backwash normally in the backwash position...)

I did open the tank to have a look at the screens, and couldn't see any holes (I didn't lift them out).

On a side note the air valve attached to the preassure gauge is locked (rusted) into the closed position, could this be the problem?

[mshumack]

You need to get that rusted vent repalced. it is important to bleed the air out of the filter when/if you open it.

[markphin]

Your tank bleed off is not causing your problem. Must be something with your slide valve. I am not familiar with those. Perhaps someone else will chime in.

[madninjapimp]

So I had a moment of horrible stupidity (mostly due to the fact that I'm new to this). The cause was the fact that a full grid was missing, whitch meant there was an open pipe into the manifold...

I was staring at it for probably over half an hour looking for rips when I realized that the "uneven" pattern was a missing grid. I was able to replace my air bleeder though

I put a rubber stopper in the open manifold inlet, secured it with some electrical tape (for good measure) and have now been running it for about 14 hours and seen an AMAZING improvement in water clarity.

As a follow up, as I filter the 5+ lbs of DE back out of my pool, how concerned about over coating the grids should I be? Is it something that I should just watch my preassure gauge, or is there a real danger to the grids having too much DE on them?

[MaryLee]

As a follow up, as I filter the 5+ lbs of DE back out of my pool, how concerned about over coating the grids should I be? Is it something that I should just watch my preassure gauge, or is there a real danger to the grids having too much DE on them?

If it were me, just to be safe, I'd turn the water over once, then backwash the filter and re-coat the grids...Don't know the right answer though..Hopefully someone more experienced can chime in.